Furniture

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a stool which is very versatile and comprises a simple cylindrical shape. The stool can be quickly and easily installed at any suitable location and, in particular, can be included in outside areas, for example, parks, school playgrounds and shopping precincts. The stool includes an interior chamber into which a ballast can be located in order to weigh the stool down. This ballast inhibits the easy movement of the stool and, in particular, prevents the inadvertent movement of the stool. The stool is located outside and the ballast is collected from adjacent to the installation site. The stool includes a recycled cut down drum as an inner core with a thermosetting outer covering moulded thereto. Accordingly, the stool and is environmentally friendly and is manufactured using recycled and sustainable materials and is anchored using a locally sourced sustainable ballast material.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to furniture and to a method ofconstructing an item of furniture. In particular, the present inventionrelates to street furniture and specifically an outdoor stool and to amethod of constructing street furniture and specifically outdoor stools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Items of street furniture are generally provided in parks, playgrounds,shopping precincts etc. to enable users to sit down and rest. Such seatsmust be weather resistant and must also be anchored to the ground toprevent the seats being easily moved, for example, to prevent the streetfurniture being moved by the wind or by children. In general, the seatsare placed on a specially prepared foundation surface which may comprisepaving slabs or the like. These paving slabs must be arranged to providea flat surface and the seat or legs of the seat may then be anchored tothe foundation surface using bolts or similar anchor members. Thepreparation and provision of a foundation surface significantlyincreases the cost and expense of the provision of the seating. Inaddition, the necessity for a foundation surface increases theinstallation time since the materials used within the foundation surfacemay be required to cure over a prolonged period prior to the seat beinginstalled and anchored.

Once installed, the seating arrangement and configuration is relativelypermanent and it generally requires a significant amount of time andexpense to rearrange the seating plan or the seating configuration. Forexample, all of the installed seats would need to be unanchored from theground and new foundation surfaces would need to be installed at the newpositions. This would again require further building materials beingtransported to the site. In addition, the new foundation surface wouldagain have to be allowed time to set and cure prior to the seats beinganchored at the new positions.

At the present time, it is preferred to use materials that aresustainable and are preferably recycled. In particular, buildingmaterials such as concrete and cement can have a significantenvironmental impact and many developers prefer or require a certainproportion of recycled and/or sustainable material to be used in theapparatus and installations.

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome at least one problemassociated with prior art whether the referred to herein or otherwise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is providedan item of furniture comprising an inner core and an outer covering, theinner core comprising a lower face and a peripheral wall and the outercovering comprising a peripheral wall and an upper surface wherein theperipheral wall of the outer covering is moulded to the peripheral wallof the inner core, the item of furniture comprising an inner hollowchamber and a sealable opening wherein a ballast is arranged, in use, tobe inserted through the opening into the inner hollow chamber in orderfor the ballast to anchor the item of furniture.

Preferably the inner core comprises a part cylindrical inner core.

Preferably the inner core comprises a cylindrical inner core.

Preferably the inner core comprises an upper face.

Preferably the outer covering comprises a part cylindrical outercovering.

Preferably the outer covering comprises a cylindrical outer covering.

Preferably the outer covering comprises a lower face.

Preferably the upper face of the outer covering is moulded to the upperface of the inner core.

Preferably the lower face of the outer covering is moulded to the lowerface of the inner core.

Preferably the peripheral wall of the outer covering is moulded to theperipheral wall of the inner core.

Preferably the item of furniture comprises a closure member which isarranged, in use, to engage over the sealable opening in order to retainthe ballast within the inner chamber. The closure member may comprise abung.

The inner core may comprise a recycled liquid chemical drum. The innercore may comprise a recycled steel drum or may comprise a recycledplastic drum.

The inner core may comprise a recycled 200 litre mild steel drum.

Preferably the inner core comprises a recycled drum and more preferablycomprises a recycled oil drum.

Preferably the inner core comprises a cut down recycled drum and morepreferably comprises a cut down recycled oil drum.

Preferably the inner core comprises a metal and more preferablycomprises steel.

The inner core may comprise a recycled metal.

The inner core may comprise rolled steel.

The height of the item of furniture may be less than 1000 mm andpreferably is less than 700 mm and more preferably is less than 600 mm.

The height of the item of furniture may be substantially 500 mm.

The height of the item of furniture may be greater than 100 mm andpreferably is greater than 300 mm and more preferably is greater than400 mm.

Preferably the item of furniture is cylindrical with a lateral circularcross-section.

The diameter of the item of furniture may be less than 1000 mm andpreferably is less than 800 mm and more preferably is less than 700 mm.

The diameter of the item of furniture may be substantially 600 mm.

The diameter of the item of furniture may be greater than 100 mm andpreferably is greater than 300 mm and more preferably is greater than400 mm.

The sealable opening may be substantially circular.

The diameter of the sealable closure may be less than 100 mm andpreferably is less than 70 mm. The diameter of the sealable closures maybe substantially 50 mm. The diameter of the sealable closure may begreater than 10 mm and preferably is greater than 20 mm and morepreferably is greater than 40 mm.

The thickness of the outer covering may be less than 40 mm andpreferably is less than 30 mm and more preferably is less that 20 mm.The thickness of the outer covering may be substantially 10 mm. Thethickness of the outer covering may be greater than 3 mm and preferablyis greater than 5 mm and more preferably is greater than 8 mm.

Preferably the outer covering comprises a thermosetting material.

Preferably the outer covering comprises a thermosetting material. Thethermosetting material may comprise polyurethane or epoxy. Morepreferably, the outer covering is produced from a two-part polyurethane.The two parts of the polyurethane consist of a resin component and anisocyanate component. The resin component may comprise renewablematerials, and may comprise polyols which may be produced from vegetableoils. The polyols may be produces from a variety of vegetable oilsincluding castor oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil etc. Preferably thepolyol is produced from rapeseed oil and more preferably fromlocally-produced rapeseed oil. The resin component may also containfillers such as sand, chalk or fly-ash. Alternatively, these fillers canbe added as a third component rather than being part of the resincomponent.

Preferably the outer covering comprises a polyurethane based on rapeseedoil polyols.

The outer covering may comprise polyurethane.

The outer covering may comprise a painted surface which may comprise atwo-part polyurethane paint.

The ballast may comprise a granular material.

The ballast may be sourced from a location adjacent to the installationsite of the seat. Preferably the ballast comprises a renewable and/orrecyclable material.

Preferably the ballast comprises sand, soil or the like.

The outer covering may have printed matter adhered thereto. For example,the outer covering may have a vinyl transfer applied thereto.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of manufacturing an item of furniture comprising moulding anouter covering to an inner core wherein the inner core comprises a lowerface and a peripheral wall and the outer covering comprises a peripheralwall and an upper surface, the method further comprising providing aninner hollow chamber with a sealable opening, the method furthercomprising inserting a ballast through the sealable opening into theinner hollow chamber in order to anchor the item of furniture.

The method may comprise collecting ballast material from the siteadjacent to the installation site of the item of furniture.

The method may comprise inverting or at least partially inverting theitem of furniture whilst filling the inner hollow chamber with ballastmaterial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example only, withthe reference to the figures that follow, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a seat inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of aseat in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides an item of furniture and, in particular,an item of street furniture. In the preferred embodiment, the item ofstreet furniture comprises a stool 10.

The present invention provides an interior chamber 11 into which aballast 15 can be located in order to weigh the stool 10 down. Thisballast 15 inhibits the easy movement of the stool 10 and, inparticular, prevents the inadvertent movement of the stool 10. In thepreferred embodiment, the stool 10 is a very simple and plain stoolwhich is essentially a cylinder.

The stool 10 is very versatile and comprises a simple cylindrical shape.The stool 10 can be quickly and easily installed at any suitablelocation and, in particular, can be included in outside areas, forexample, parks, school playgrounds and shopping precincts. At theselocations, several stools 10 can be provided which can be arranged inany pre-determined pattern or configuration, for example a snake likeline.

The stool 10 is provided in a selected bright colour and can also bemanufactured with emblems and/or logos moulded onto the surface or maybe provided with externally applied transfers.

The stool 10 is both practical and has environmental benefits withrespect to prior art stools.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the stool 10 is essentially a cylinderhaving a lower circular face 16, an upper circular face 12 and aperipheral wall 14 connecting the respective edges of the upper face 12and lower face 16. In use, the lower face 16 rests on the ground andsupports the stool 10. The upper face 12 provides the seating surfacefor users.

The stool 10 includes an inner hollow chamber 11 in which a ballast 15can be contained in order to anchor the stool 10 to the ground andinhibit easy movement of the stool 10. The ballast thereby provides thestool with significant stability.

The stool 10 includes a sealable opening 18 over which a closure member19 can be engaged. In particular, a ballast 15 can be inserted throughthe opening 18 and the closure member 19 can be engaged in order toretain the ballast 15 within the inner hollow chamber 11. The opening 18is provided on the lower face 16 of the stool 10 and is, therefore,concealed in normal use.

Accordingly, the stool 10 is relatively lightweight when the innerhollow chamber 11 is empty but when the inner hollow chamber 11 isfilled or partially filled with a ballast 15 the stool 10 is relativelyheavy. The amount of ballast 15 directly influences the weight of thestool 10 and, the user can directly and easily select an appropriateamount and weight of ballast for the particular circumstances.

Since the stool 10 is lightweight, the cost and ease of transportationof the street furniture in accordance with the present invention isgreatly improved with respect to prior art street furniture. Inaddition, the inner hollow chamber 11 and associated opening 18 meanthat a ballast 15 can be easily included at the final location. Theballast 15 is preferably a granular type material selected from thefinal site. In particular, sand, soil and the like may be sourced fromthe site in order to quickly and easily weigh the stool 10 down.

Furthermore, when the life cycle of the stool 10 is complete and it isto be removed from the site, the ballast 15 can be quickly and easilyreturned to the original source and, therefore, this provides aneffective recycling pattern. In addition, the removal of the ballast 15means that the stool 10 can be quickly and easily removed without therequirement of removing a specially prepared foundation surface or withthe problem of leaving a specially prepared foundation surface which mayprovide a hazard or risk.

In use, a user can simply transport a number of stools 10 to a site andthese can be quickly and easily manually moved to the appropriatelocation. Once at the selected location, the stool 10 can be inverted,or at least partially inverted, in order for the opening to beaccessible and located at a raised position. The ballast 15 may comprisesand and/or soil sourced from the site which can be quickly and easilytransported to the final location in a wheel barrow or other appropriateapparatus. The ballast 15 is then inserted through the opening 18 and afunnel or other similar implement may be used for this purpose. Once theappropriate volume or amount of ballast 15 is contained in the innerhollow chamber 11, the bung 19 can be firmly engaged in the opening 18in order to retain the ballast 15 in the inner hollow chamber 11. Thestool 10 can then be orientated in order for the lower face 16 to reston the ground and for the upper face 12 to provide a level andhorizontal seating surface.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical stool 10 comprises an inner core andan outer covering. The inner core is essentially cylindrical andcomprises an upper face 22, a lower face 26 and a peripheral wall 24connecting the respective edges of the upper face 22 and the lower face26. The inner core defines the inner hollow chamber 11 at the stool 10.

The inner core provides the strength for the stool 10. The inner corecomprises a metal and in the preferred embodiment the inner core issteel and specifically rolled steel. The steel may be recycled steel.

The steel conforms to British Standard BS 4848 and is cold formed to CFA1. The steel is protected against corrosion by coating or galvanising.

In particular, the inner core is a conventional 200 litre mild steeldrum, manufactured with no specific contents in mind. The drum isideally a recycled drum. In one embodiment the inner core may comprise arecycled oil drum. The oil drum is a conventional and standard 210 litreoil drum which is cut down in size.

The inner core is formed from the drum and the peripheral wall of thedrum is cut twice in order for a section to be removed. The tworemaining parts including the upper and lower faces are then welded orotherwise secured together in order to provide an inner core memberhaving a height of approximately 600 mm.

The drum also provides an opening which can serves as the opening forthe ballast in the final stool 10.

Once cleaned and cut down, the outer covering can be applied to theinner core. The outer core comprises a thermosetting material which ismoulded on to the inner core. In particular, an outer covering ofapproximately 10 mm thickness is moulded to the upper face 22, lowerface 26 and peripheral wall 24 of the inner core. The outer covering isalso provided with an opening 38 which corresponds with the opening 28of the inner core in order to provide the ballast entry opening in thestool 10.

The thermosetting material proves a tough and weather resistant materialwhich can withstand rain, wind and sun without any significantdeterioration or degradation.

The outer covering comprises a thermosetting material such aspolyurethane or epoxy. The outer covering is produced from a two-partpolyurethane. The two parts of the polyurethane consist of a resincomponent and an isocyanate component. The resin component comprisesrenewable materials, these are termed polyols which may be produced fromvegetable oils. A variety of vegetable oils can be used in this processincluding castor oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil etc. However, thepreferred embodiment uses locally-produced rapeseed oil for thispurpose. The resin component may also contain fillers such as sand,chalk or fly-ash. Alternatively, these fillers can be added as a thirdcomponent rather than being part of the resin component.

As mentioned above, the thermosetting material comprises a resinincluding chemical(s) derived from a renewable source(s). In particularthe chemical(s) are derived from rapeseed oil. The resin has twoimportant fillers contained within it. In an embodiment, the fillers arewaste fly-ash from power stations and granulated rubber from wastetyres. Accordingly, it can be seen that the present invention ismanufactured from recycled materials and renewable materials.

The outer covering comprises a environmental polyurethane and/or a“green” polyurethane. The outer covering comprises a pigmented materialwhich uses an environmentally friendly rapeseed oil with the capacity tocolour the polyurethane casting material to complement the product paintcolour.

The material of the outer covering may comprise a rigid polyurethanefoam.

The material of the outer covering is an engineering grade polyurethanebased on rapeseed oil polyols. This material has the followingcharacteristics:

Hardness 70 Shore D Tensile Strength >15 Mpa 25% Modulus >12 MpaUltimate Elongation >100% Fire Rating V0 (UL94)

Once the thermosetting material has been applied, the assembly ispainted using a high quality two-part polyurethane paint. This gives abright, glossy finish which does not chip and does not fade under brightlighting conditions. The present invention is designed to withstandlong-term ageing in an outside environment.

The thermosetting material is covered with a heavy duty coating whichincludes a primer coat of pain. The item includes a high gloss finishwith a two-part polyurethane paint to RAL/BS specification. Thisprovides ultimate levels of weathering, colour retention, solventresistance, abrasion resistance and wide-ranging chemical resistanceleading to minimal maintenance costs.

The outer surface of the stool 10 can be finished with any suitabledecorative material, for example, transfers, as required by the enduser.

Overall, the stool 10 and is environmentally friendly and ismanufactured using recycled and sustainable materials and is anchoredusing a locally sourced sustainable ballast material.

The preferred embodiment of the item of furniture in accordance with thepresent invention is a stool although other items of furniture could bemanufactured and provided, for example a table.

The item is rust proof and is impact resistant and is resistant tochipping and the item has excellent strength. The item will not shatterand is still lightweight which makes it easy to install. The items areremovable and weigh less than 25 kg which mean that the item is suitablefor one man to lift.

The polyurethane casting material is coloured to complement the finalpaint colour. Any design can be incorporated and emblems, crests andlogos can be easily incorporated.

The final item may be individually bubble wrapped for transportation.

1. An item of furniture comprising an inner core and an outer covering,the inner core comprising a lower face and a peripheral wall and theouter covering comprising a peripheral wall and an upper surface whereinthe peripheral wall of the outer covering is moulded to the peripheralwall of the inner core, the item of furniture comprising an inner hollowchamber and a sealable opening wherein a ballast is arranged, in use, tobe inserted through the opening into the inner hollow chamber in orderfor the ballast to anchor the item of furniture.
 2. An item of furnitureaccording to claim 1 in which the inner core comprises a cylindricalinner core.
 3. An item of furniture according to claim 1 in which theouter covering comprises a cylindrical outer covering.
 4. An item offurniture according to claim 1 in which the upper face, peripheral walland lower face of the outer covering is moulded to the respective upperface, peripheral wall and lower face of the inner core.
 5. An item offurniture according to claim 1 in which the item of furniture comprisesa closure member which is arranged, in use, to engage over the sealableopening in order to retain the ballast within the inner chamber.
 6. Anitem of furniture according to claim 5 in which the closure membercomprises a bung.
 7. An item of furniture according to claim 1 in whichinner core comprises a recycled drum.
 8. An item of furniture accordingto claim 7 in which the inner core comprises a cut down recycled drum.9. An item of furniture according to claim 1 in which the inner corecomprises a metal.
 10. An item of furniture according to claim 1 inwhich the inner core comprises steel.
 11. An item of furniture accordingto claim 1 in which the height of the item of furniture may besubstantially 600 mm.
 12. An item of furniture according to claim 1 inwhich the item of furniture is cylindrical with a lateral circularcross-section.
 13. An item of furniture according to claim 1 in whichthe diameter of the item of furniture is substantially 500 mm.
 14. Anitem of furniture according to claim 1 in which the sealable opening issubstantially circular.
 15. An item of furniture according to claim 1 inwhich the diameter of the sealable closures is substantially 50 mm. 16.An item of furniture according to claim 1 in which the thickness of theouter covering is substantially 10 mm.
 17. An item of furnitureaccording to claim 1 in which the outer covering comprises athermosetting material.
 18. An item of furniture according to claim 1 inwhich the outer covering comprises polyurethane.
 19. An item offurniture according to claim 1 in which the outer covering comprisestwo-part polyurethane.
 20. An item of furniture according to claim 19 inwhich the two-part polyurethane comprises a resin component and anisocyanate component.
 21. An item of furniture according to claim 20 inwhich the resin component comprises renewable materials.
 22. An item offurniture according to claim 20 in which the resin component comprises apolyol.
 23. An item of furniture according to claim 22 in which thepolyol is produced from rapeseed oil.
 24. An item of furniture accordingto claim 1 in which the outer covering comprises a polyurethane based onrapeseed oil polyols.
 25. An item of furniture according to claim 19 inwhich the outer covering comprises a filler material.
 26. An item offurniture according to claim 1 in which the outer covering comprise apainted surface.
 27. An item of furniture according to claim 26 in whichthe paint comprises a two-part polyurethane paint.
 28. An item offurniture according to claim 1 in which the ballast comprises a granularmaterial.
 29. An item of furniture according to claim 1 in which theballast is sourced from a location adjacent to the installation site ofthe item of furniture.
 30. An item of furniture according to claim 1 inwhich the ballast comprises a renewable and/or recyclable material. 31.An item of furniture according to claim 1 in which the outer coveringhas printed matter adhered thereto.
 32. A method of manufacturing anitem of furniture comprising moulding an outer covering to an inner corewherein the inner core comprises a lower face and a peripheral wall andthe outer covering comprises a peripheral wall and an upper surface, themethod further comprising providing an inner hollow chamber with asealable opening, the method further comprising inserting a ballastthrough the sealable opening into the inner hollow chamber in order toanchor the item of furniture.
 33. A method of manufacturing an item offurniture according to claim 32 in which the method comprises collectingballast material from the site adjacent to the installation site of theitem of furniture.
 34. A method of manufacturing an item of furnitureaccording to claim 32 in which the method comprises inverting or atleast partially inverting the item of furniture whilst filling the innerhollow chamber with ballast material.
 35. (canceled)
 36. (canceled)